Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology

This is the journal of the Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU), presenting UFO and paranormal cases from Spain, South America and the Caribbean

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Spain: A UFO Over Gran Canaria

Source: Canarias7.es (Spain)
Date: 06.30.2012

Spain: A UFO Over Gran Canaria

“It was a large thing floating in the air, projecting a beam of light from within.”

An eyewitness to the sighting of the unidentified flying object reported over Gran Canaria has assured this newspaper that it was “very large, round, surrounded by lights, and projecting a powerful light toward the ground.”

She was able to see the device “clearly” despite being at the wheel of his vehicle. According to the same source, remained suspended and quiet for a considerable period of time over Barranco de El Aguila in southern Gran Canaria. The slight fog at that time of the morning caused cars to travel at a slower speed than usual, giving her the chance, as she said “to see it clearly.”

The witness, who was on her way to work when the events occurred, and who prefers to remain anonymous, explained that she was “very startled” by what she saw, “above all by the powerful light projected from under the device.” The witness states that she was frightened “for a moment, but I indeed saw it. Of that I’m certain.”

“It was a large thing floating in the air, projecting a very intense beam of light from within,” adds the woman, explaining that the powerful “flash of light” bathed the slopes of the Barranco de El Aguila canyon, in the vicinity of the Bahia Feliz tourist area in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The witness denies hearing any unusual sounds aside from the ones normally heard of that time.

Note from the Newsroom: A photo appeared on the cover of our newspaper for a number of hours whose authenticity has not been ascertained and without the credits that must accompany any image appearing on our web. Publication of this photo, seemingly taken from a blog that has neither been named nor linked, has been made without the knowledge of the persons responsible for the newspaper and against the editorial guidelines that govern this website. We have therefore proceeded to remove it, and we apologize to the authors of the image and the blog. [...]

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Panama: Seeing a UFO "Stirs Sexual Desires"

[Cid Gallup Latinoamérica is a respected public opinion survey company and El Siglo has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Panama. The survey – as people say nowadays – “seems legit” – SC]

Panama: Seeing a UFO “Stirs Sexual Desires”

A survey by a local Panamanian paper yielded a surprising result: 37 per cent of Panamanians claim having seen an unidentified flying object (UFO) and felt their desire for sex stirred immediately after the experience.

“Six percent of Panamanians claim having seen a UFO, out of which 37% claim having felt “sexual desire” following the experience, according to the survey by the Cid Gallup company, appearing in the El Siglo newspaper.

“A desire for sex was the strongest feeling – according to the survey – among those who claim having seen a UFO, far above a feeling of terror (17%). There is no specific explanation offered by the survey as to this reason. Thirty-eight per cent (38%) responded having felt nothing in particular,” according to Diana Santanach, director of Cid Gallup in Panama.

The survey discloses other interesting details, such as shapes associated with UFOs: 39% saw them as saucers, 4% as hornets, 3% as top-shaped and 1% as cranes.

Furthermore, only 12% of respondents would like to meet an alien, compared to 61% who would prefer not undergoing such an experience, and 25% who didn’t know/didn’t answer.

Thirty-seven per cent of respondents believed in life in other planets, while 63% refused to believe in such a possibility, according to the survey.

With regard to the aliens’ shape, 12% believe that they would resemble giant lizards, 11% believed they would be human shaped, and 2% replied that they would resemble angels. Seventy-two per cent replied that they would be “unimaginable”.

The survey was conducted in Panama with a sample of 1,200 respondents between June 7th and June 20th, 2012, with a 2.8% margin of error.

A statement by UFO researchers gathered yesterday in an inter-provincial forum. They defined themselves as “cosmic detectives”. They exchanged results of their latest findings yesterday.

“We’re cosmic detectives.” These are how the researchers who devoted yesterday’s sunny weather to exchanging their most recent results of their UFO research. They met at Centro de Distrito Sur and spoke on various phenomena related to the subject. The audience was stunned by a fact: in recent decades, four abductions occurred in Rosario that were thoroughly investigated and were even forwarded to the court system. Furthermore, they said that cattle mutilations had taken place in neighboring Victoria (Province of Entre Rios) and that a green light fifteen degrees over the Paraná River illuminated an astounded onlooker, while the recent “crop circles” in Pujato had been created by a very earthly ATV.

“However, the creation of a perfect circle measuring 25 meters in diameter in the middle of a cornfield in Las Perdices (Province of Cordoba) can indeed be ascribed to a UFO,” said the researchers, making it clear that they are not interested in adding information that cannot be corroborated with the rigor of a multi-disciplinary approach. This is their greatest desire, and they make it evident when they speak of matters they consider authentic: “We are sharing our world, seeing or participating with something that is not representative of our planet Earth.”

This was the uncompromising tone of the dialogue held between La Capital and Elias Kolev, Silvia and Andrea Pérez Simondini, Luis Reinoso, Guillermo Aldunati and Daniel Verón – all of them UFO researchers and members of the Visión Ovni (Victoria) and Edovni groups, and the Más Allá del Límite radio show (Rosario). They were, in short, the organizers of the first inter-provincial encounter held yesterday under the sponsorship of the Municipality of Rosario.

“The sightings are worldwide. There were chronicles and stories on the subject in all points of history,” they said, speaking of one of the best-known cases. We should know, however, that scanning the skies now has the support of a commission created last year by the Argentinean Air Force to investigate anomalous phenomena.

“This gave us institutionality, which is absolutely what we needed for people to understand our task, as the Air Force is not going to waste time on something that doesn’t exist as a phenomenon,” they stressed, summarizing the importance of this endorsement for the task they have been carrying out for years – one that is often seen within the folds of fantasy and reality. “This gives us the chance to explain to people, very normally, that the UFO phenomenon is real without having people think we’re crazy, which is something we’ve experienced ourselves. We faced many years of suffering,” they remarked.

“It’s a childhood dream. Forty-six years ago we longed for an official level such as the one the Air Force has granted us, spending several hours in meetings with them to state our concerns and make our private files available on investigative efforts upon which we lavished so much time.” They added that several disciplines play a role in the UFO phenomenon: geopolitics, astronomy, chemistry, physics and exobiology (the study of offworld life), as an example.

Why study these phenomena? Researchers boil the answer down to an awakening of awareness. This is precisely the eyewitness information provided by people who claimed having experienced abductions, and which are four in Rosario over the past three decades (non-traumatic cases, free of injuries). It’s about connecting with each other in the cosmos, with its harmony, we are citizens of the universe,” stated the group. Perhaps the audience perceived something of this, particularly with regard to the “questions and doubts” brought about by any mystery worthy of the name.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Chile: Aeronautical Administration Launches UFO Website

Source: La Nacion (Chile)
Date: 20 June 2012-06-22

CHILE: Aeronautical Administration Launches UFO Website

The Dirección General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC – General Office of Civil Aeronautics), launched a website on Wednesday that presents cases, videos and reports that demonstrates the existence of unidentified flying objects not only in Chile, but around the world.

CEFAA has been operating since 1997 as a result of the repeated instances of these phenomena in airports and sightings by pilots and other individuals. Thus, in cooperation with the Air Force, private and internal investigators, PDI staff, universities and scientists have managed to ascertain the existence of at least 24 cases that can be classified as UFOs.

Meanwhile, their mission consists in compiling and studying all relevant background information and contributing in this way to the safety of air operations. Pilots are instructed as to how they should react when faced with manifestations of this phenomena [bold in the original—SC]

“The UFO phenomenon is real,” stated Ricardo Bermúdez, CEFAA’s director, “and it is something that takes place worldwide.” Another of the goals of this organization is to make instances of these events known to the public at large.

The www.cefaa.gob.cl website shall be in operation as from Thursday at 08:30 hours, offering visual eyewitness reports in Chile and around the world involving unidentified flying objects in our skies, such as the photo taken at the Ovalle airport in November 2009.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mexico: Alleged UFO Photographed During Sandstorm

CIUDAD JUAREZ – Residents of Ciudad Juarez claim having photographed an unidentified flying object only minutes before last Friday’s sandstorm, whose winds approached 90 kilometers an hour and created widespread chaos throughout the region.

Through the Facebook social network, a photograph was shared this Monday by subscriber Juan Carlos León, showing a sort of ring suspended in the sky with at least a dozen lights.

The user informed Norte Digital that the photo was taken by a young woman named Raquel Vargas, who provided him with the image.

León noted that Vargas is a skeptical individual. However, she managed to photograph the aerial shape moments before the weather phenomenon took place, and wanted to share it on the Internet.

Norte Digital contacted Vargas, who assured that said image was taken in the vicinity of Calzada del Rio, to the north of the city, in the direction of El Paso, Texas. “I was running an errand at a neighboring development and we heard something like a lightning bolt, but when we turned around, we saw that thing in the sky,” she said.

The phenomenon was seen by several local residents, who turned on their cellphones and photo cameras upon seeing the UFO. “When we left our home, in a matter of minutes, it was still in the sky and I managed to take a picture of it. Others did as well.”

Another local resident told Vargas that the lights resembled the ones seen when a night time game is being played at a stadium.

The “haboob” started only minutes after the strange aerial spectacle ended.

“There was a lot of wind and flying dirt after that, and we went away because the storm had already started,” she noted.

Last Friday, the wind gusts recorded achieved speeds of up to 85 kilometers per hour, prompting a mobilization by various rescue forces, Public Safety and Civil Protection, who reported to at least 37 emergency situations in a two-hour period.

Injuries, blackouts, toppled structures, fallen fences and trees, aside from traffic accidents and the momentary suspension of flights from the local airport, were the consequence of the zero visibility caused by the powerful winds.

Colombia: Luminous Anomaly Over Manizales

[INEXPLICATA stopped posting photos of alleged UFO phenomena a while back, but our friend Daniel González of Spain's GEIFO group (currently in Colombia, where he heads the organization's local chapter) has sent us two interesting photographs: a greenish "flying spindle" that supposedly appeared after a lightning storm in the town of Manizales, Colombia. He is currently trying to locate the photographer for an interview. In the meantime, we submit these to you as "anomalous light" photos and not UFO shots. - Scott Corrales, Editor, Inexplicata]

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Spain: UFO Case Histories of Ceuta

Spain: UFO Case Histories of CeutaBy Angel Carretero Olmedo

[Ceuta is an autonomous Spanish city on the North African coast – a place of great historical significance that goes back to Carthaginian and Roman times. As such, it deserves a separate chronicle of UFO activity in its airspace, provided to us by Andalucía Misteriosa’s Angel Carretero Olmedo – S. Corrales]

UFO CASE HISTORIES – CEUTA

YEAR 1952

Source: Angel Rivero (http://www.looculto.tk)

04.28.1952 Ceuta

A group of flying objects was seen in the skies over Ceuta on 28 April 1952. The objects emitted an intense light and flew very quickly. Their transit lasted between two and five minutes (other sources indicate between ten and fifteen minutes) and they were accompanied by a powerful booming noise.

YEAR 1954

Source: Angel Rivero (http://www.looculto.tk)

12.02.1954 Ceuta

On 2 December 1954 a radar in French Morocco picked up an echo. According to the report issued, an object was five miles west of Ceuta between 14:10 hours and 15:09 hours at an altitude ranging from 5,900 to 20,000 feet at a speed ranging between 20 and 120 knots, making ascending and descending movements.

Subsequently, between 20:35 and 21:50 hours, another radar echo exhibiting similarly anomalous behavior to the first was picked up, between 5,600 and 40,000 feet.

Two F-86 interceptors were scrambled with no results (“no joy” in the original report). Two airplanes flying over the area did not report any abnormal traffic.

YEAR 1968

11.29.1968 Ceuta

At midnight on 29 November 1968, several residents of Ceuta witnessed the flight of an object shaped like a rugby ball, issuing red and blue flashes. The object vanished after a few minutes after having flown quickly over the García Albade wilderness.

YEAR 1969

Source: Angel Rivero (http://www.looculto.tk)

November 1969 Ceuta

In late November 1969, Francisco and Cristina Gil were walking through the streets of Ceuta when they saw an object in the distance measuring an (apparent) 50-60 centimeters, consisting of two concentric circles from which an intense oscillating light issued, with a weaker one coming out of the external corona.

The object descended over the summit of a hill, being concealed by some trees after emitting several flashes.

The couple, having reached Punta Bermeja, found a second object, some 3 meters in diameter and less intense lighting, which vanished quickly after 10 minutes after having remained motionless.

Members of the CEONIX group learned during subsequent investigations of two grooves in the soil and other unknown marks.

YEAR 1974

Source: Angel Rivero (http://www.looculto.tk)

04-28-1974

Several members of the news staff of a daily newspaper in Ceuta managed to see a strange luminous object at 24:00 hours on 28 April 1974. The object was at a considerable height and distance and appeared to move slowly. It issued a light that ranged from whitish to orange, and vanished within seconds.

YEAR 1999

07.03.1999
Time: 12:05
Witness: Emilio V. Pomares

Eyewitness’s description of the event:

“I would like to inform you of a strange event that took place on 3 June 1999 at 12:05. I was on Marina Espanola Street in Ceuta, which faces the Straits of Gibraltar. Two jet aircraft flew over the coastline and I stopped to watch them.

“The fighters had vanished from sight when I noticed another airplane, much larger and also jet powered, Jumbo sized, flying relatively low in a straight line, West to East, at speed far slower than that of the military’s small jets. What was surprising is that the enormous airplane was flanked by four flat, circular objects in a symmetrical, triangular formation (two objects on each side).

“It occurred to me one day to record the planet Venus on a 220x video camera, with the zoom to the max. The effect I obtained was almost similar to that of the famous “cookie-shaped UFO” that appeared on television.

“Without further to report, and inviting you to our city to act as your guide, please accept my best regards.”

According to Papiers d’OVNIS, the explanation was the “mid-air refueling of four combat aircraft”.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Mexico: An Interview With Claudio Mora, La Esfera Azul

For many years we have witnessed increasing openness in the discussion and exposition of the subject of the unidentifieds and the paranormal. This state of affairs has cause many characters, enthusiasts and so-called experts to sprout everywhere, promoting themselves noisily on the social networks, where we can find everything from budding interested parties who never mature, and see the subject as an endless pastime to fill their lives, to the acknowledged expert having many years of work and research experience behind them, heralding it to the winds. The fact is that there is something for everyone, such as those fans who latch on to someone who has a passed on, and who enjoyed a certain amount of fame, and then claim having been great friends, or their secretary or personal advisor. This serves to generate a certain amount of attention aimed at them. We also find the parasite who seeks only financial betterment, startling the unwary who fall for their illogical foolishness. We can also find characters who -- thanks to the bounty of the Internet – set up homemade radio shows (in which they are experts in all manner of things) from which to unleash their egos and insanity, weaving elaborate fantasies and theories which are as hare-brained as a science fiction film. There are other strange specimens that are too tiresome to mention, but fortunately, not all of them are like that.

Luckily, we can find some serious researchers in Mexico, people who do their work and research in a serious and objective fashion, beyond the tinsel and limelight. It may be that there are only a few, but they exist and it suffices to listen to what they have to say. Finding a whole group with such characteristics – earnest, committed, whose growth we have witnessed, as I’ve known them for many years – leads to the conversation in which, as you shall see, several interesting issues are raised. This then is the interview with our friends at La Esfera Azul, adn the way in which they perceive these mysteries.

Development and Professionalism

Roberto S. Contreras (RSC): Salvador, could you tell when you started to operate as a group? How many of there are you, and how are you organized?

Esfera Azul: Of course, Robert. First of all, many thanks for the interview. It is always a pleasure to speak with a colleague and friend, as you have been for many years. La Esfera Azul was created as a group on 12 June 1999, and we are currently about ten members. Yours truly is the founder-director of the organization, and we operate from the premise of being a group of friends linked by a healthy interest in mysterious subjects, yet at the same time adopting an objective and committed stance toward them. Depending on the case to be investigated (UFOs, paranormal, cryptozoology, crop circles, etc.) it is approached by those who happen to be specialists in the field, or rather, there are those of us who can cover most of them based on our field experience. We can thus convey experiences between members, both the newest and the oldest ones, insuring constant development and professionalism in our group.

RSC: How did the idea of creating a research group into these mysteries come about?

Esfera Azul: I initially developed a professional interest in these subjects since 1992. Over time, little by little and in a constant manner, I have tried to be as professional as possible in dealing with research into these mysteries. In 1999, nearly two years of having teamed up with like-minded friends to discuss and share our knowledge on the subject, I took the initiative and decision to constitute a group through which we could “professionalize” ourselves as a team, going from being mere enthusiasts to objective researchers in the full senses of the word, generating our own investigations. Our main goals have always included injecting seriousness and objectivity, since as you are well aware, these subjects have also become a breeding ground for rogues and charlatans. It is precisely because these subjects are worthy of respect, once you have delved into them.

R.S.C.: What events and research have you performed in these years?

Esfera Azul: As far as research is concerned, we have about 150 events, some of them published through our official web site, others are underway and there are still others which we have not made public. We will do it soon. As far as events go, we’ve organized 4 conferences, 3 of them national and 1 international, held in our home city of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. These took place in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 respectively, and as far as we know, we’re the only anomalous research group in our country to have held four events of such magnitude, and it should be noted that this was achieved with great effort and receiving basically nothing in return. It was all done in favor and support of the progress of these subjects in a professional manner. In the year 2011, we kicked off a series of lectures, in which you yourself and Hernán Bado played a part. We shall soon restart this series of lectures.

Possible Explosion of an Unknown Object

R.S.C.: What has been your best investigation and why?

Esfera Azul: Out of all the research initiatives we have had the opportunity to carry out since 1999, I could hardly mention one in particular, as they have all been interesting in their own way and with features that make them unique. However, I can say that some of the most noteworthy ones include, for example the 2007 UFO investigation into a possible explosion of an unknown object on the ground near Cerro del Quinceo. It was necessary for us to conduct a fly-over of the area in a private plane to find the exact location, in order to then collect physical specimens on the ground. These were later shared with scientists of the graduate schools of Biotechnology and Metallurgy of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, highlighting that this investigation is the first of its kind in Mexico, and possibly in the world, in which scientists have become deeply involved. They furnished written and official accounts of what was found in the physical samples, attesting that something really did fall out of the sky.

R.S.C: After having moved around within the subject, and knowing people, what’s your perception of research in Mexico?

Esfera Azul: We believe that research into the unexplained in Mexico, after having been the leader and spearhead internationally for several decades, and even for a number of years in recent memory, has fallen into a rut. It has become stultified. This is due to situations that have caused it great harm, such as yellow journalism, fanaticism, pseudo-researchers and similar situations (in many instances due to the egos and a variety of personal interests). However, we also believe that this situation will turn itself around in the near future, and we will be able to regain the course and position that our country has occupied with regard to these subjects, based on the objectivity and work of many who, like us, also want to recover that position, since I think there are many more of us who are working toward true, serious and objective research. I hope that’s the case.

R.S.C.: Has La Esfera Azul found, or favor, any theory or explanation for unidentified flying objects?

Esfera Azul: Yes, we also believe that there could be a variety of explanations, hypotheses and/or theories that can be mutually related, as these possible answers or explanations range from the riskiest assumptions to the extraterrestrial hypothesis to multiverses, parallel universe, the hollow-Earth theory, time-travel and secret technology belonging to the superpowers. All of this, I repeat, could apply to individual cases or to mutually related cases. Time will tell, since branches of science, including multi-disciplinary ones, may shed greater light in this regard (quantum physics could well be among them).

Out of 10 or 20 Contactee Cases, Only One May Be Real

R.S.C.: What’s your opinion of the contactee phenomenon?

Esfera Azul: This is a phenomenon we believe to be real, but which at the same time, to give you a statistical example, only one may be authentic out of a possible 20-30 cases, and this would be based on in-depth and timely research, or following up the person or persons involved, since several fields of knowledge are involved, and multi-disciplinary research (psychology, psychiatry, medicine, biology, physics, etc.). Unfortunately, the vast majority of these contactee cases not only lack hard evidence, but specific facts and personalities as well. It’s a very interesting subject, but one that must be approached with total objectivity and professionalism.

R.S.C.: What case or cases in Mexico struck you the most, and which would you like to investigate?

Esfera Azul: There are several, ranging from classic cases from long ago to recent ones. To give you an example, in the paranormal field, I think it would have been extremely interesting to research the building known as “La Castañeda”, one of our country’s enigmatic locations, which housed one of the largest mental institutions to have ever existed, and all of the events that took place there. As far as UFOs go, there are also several and we can mention the possible collision of a UFO in Puebla in the 1970s during the 20th century. Within the field of cryptozoology, our country is vast in that regard, but for example, cases involving “aluches” or the guardians of tunnels to intraterrestrial cities that are abundant in our culture, would also be very interesting to look into, among others.

A Need for More Objective Researchers Committed to the Truth

R.S.C.: We know that there are many enthusiasts in this field, some who only cut and paste, characters who dub themselves researchers and even contactees, but despite these inconveniences, how does La Esfera Azul perceive serious researchers in our country?

Esfera Azul: We believe that serious researchers are on the rise within our country, slowly but steadily. I think that there is a growing awareness of the need for more objective researchers, committed to the truth and professionalism in all subjects involving the unknown.

R.S.C.: How are these phenomena received in Morelia?

Esfera Azul: On the one hand, and it bears mentioning, there is an abundance of self-proclaimed “researchers” operating through radio programs and based on purely monetary interests. They are hardly more than pseudo-researchers, because they contribute very little to the subject and take advantage of the ignorance of many people. Being fear-based, it earns them money and dividends, with the result that the mystery research scene in Morelia has been damaged. However, in the same way we can state that we were the first formal group to make a professional approach to these subjects, not only in Morelia, but in our state of Michoacán, we have learned of people who much like us, are trying to take their first steps in this field with professionalism and a sense of commitment, endeavoring to bring their best to this field. They have approached us for advice, support or even to join us, a situation that pleases us greatly, and we will always provide support, since Morelia has always been, so to speak, a late reflection what our country was going through a few years ago, when a crisis in the field arose due to the sensationalist saturation that led to yellow press and fanaticism. We believe that this is our current situation. Nonetheless, I repeat that it is being rolled back for the reasons I told you, and that we shall see improvements in the near future.

R.S.C: Do you have any message for those who will read this interview?

Esfera Azul: First, I’d like to thank you Robert, for this interview. Aside from being colleagues, we have been friends for many years now, and I’d also like to thank all those who are reading this interview. I would like to send a message to those who feel -- in an egotistic and even jealous and restricting manner – that research on these subjects is limited to our nation’s capital. On the contrary, the remaining 31 states of the Mexican Republic, with their respective cities, have had and always will have fully capable and professional people who can also give their best to this subject. Let us set aside our egos. To those who are starting out in this field, bear in mind what I have said. Never lose your humility and simplicity, as that is always serve as the basis for making you objective and respectful researchers of mysteries. Remember to watch the skies with your feet on the ground. My best regards to everyone, and keep in touch.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Touch of Darkness: Cemeteries and UFOs

A TOUCH OF DARKNESS: CEMETERIES AND UFOsBy Scott Corrales
(c) 2012

There is a dark side to the UFO phenomenon that has always been mentioned, but is seldom delved into. In an effort to “accentuate the positive” we overlook some of these grotesque aspects, mainly because they do not jibe with our concept of an advanced, benevolent, spacefaring, technological civilization – such as one that we may have read about in the books of Larry Niven or Hal Clement. This dark side is raw and primitive, evoking fears that go as far back as the caves, but taking place in our own troubled times. Some of these behaviors suggest – to the discomfiture of many – that the intelligence behind the UFO is far more earthbound than we know, and more closely related to Medieval lore than outer space.

Anthropologists have suggested that human ritual practices in burying the dead go back at least a hundred thousand years, and aside from guaranteeing the final rest of the departed by anointing them with substances such as red ochre, surrounding them with flowers, sea shells and other objects, there was also the urge to place them with charms that would insure the body’s protection against “evil spirits”. Vigils were held to insure that corpses weren’t reanimated by these spirits, bringing harm to the community, or – perhaps more importantly, if the deceased had died a violent death – identifying the perpetrator in the community. Historian M.P. Charlesworth mentions a fear in the rural Roman Empire of “vampires coming to take away the dead”, and similar beliefs and traditions can be found under different guises all around the planet.

An Unsettling Motion Picture

In 1979, an unusual film graced screens across America. Billed as a horror/sci-fi flick, Phantasm presented the story of a small town whose less-than-human funeral director (a character known only as the Tall Man) modifies human corpses into "slave labor" --dwarfish creatures resembling the Jawas from Star Wars-- on a distant planet. When the film's youthful protagonists discover the ultimate fate of their dead relative's mortal remains, they undertake a quest to vanquish the Tall Man and his works. So compelling was this piece of fiction that it spawned an enthusiastic fan base and three sequels.

While the merits of this cinematic event are best left to film reviewers, Phantasm drew attention to a curious aspect of the UFO phenomenon--its unusual affinity with human burial grounds, ancient and modern.
But before proceeding along this line of inquiry, it is necessary to differentiate between UFOs and the balls of light seen at many graveyards in this country and in others. Known as "cemetery lights" or "graveyard lights", they have been described as having sizes ranging from candle-flames to large azure fireballs. These lights, which can either dart around or remain perfectly motionless, have been attributed to the presence of phorphorated hydrogen, which has luminous properties. Researchers such as Spain's Salvador Freixedo have remarked about the sentient quality exibited by these objects and dubbed them REPQEN --Residual Psychic Quasi-Intelligent Energy.

A Tradition of UFO Involvement

In the early decades of the UFO phenomenon, investigators would write about the phenomenon's preference for dark, deserted places--quarries, garbage dumps, cemeteries--and suggested that these choices were ideal low-visibility places for alien spaceship crews to land undetected by humans. As the paranormal aspects of the phenomenon began to be acknowledged in the 1970's, researchers admitted that such places had also been favored by shadowy creatures from terrestrial traditions.

One of the most the most remarkable cases involving the presence of unidentified flying objects over an ancient North American burial ground was recorded by investigator John Magor in his article "Strange Sights in Yukon Sky" (Canadian UFO Report, Vol.1. No.1). The incident took place in the environs of Canyon Creek on the Alaska Highway in December 1966 and involved the family of one Bob McKinnon.

According to Mr. McKinnon, he first became aware that something was amiss when a powerful beam of light poured through the windows of the rest area he operated on the highway. Even more surprising was the fact that the light beam had its origin in an ancient Indian burial ground half a mile away.

McKinnon thought at first that the light issued from construction work being done at the site, but soon realized that this could not be the case, since the beam "was hanging absolutely motionless in the air, maybe a 100 feet up, and looked to be about two feet in diameter. It was bluish-orange in color, something like the reflections off a diamond."

The rest area operator called his relatives to witness the event and went outside the structure to get a better view. The light initiated a slow descent over the burial ground. The source of light almost touched the ground and lit the four-foot tall wooden huts into which the bodies of the dead were deposited. "We definitely had a feeling it was interested in the place," noted the main witness.

Then as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished. McKinnon contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was told that the object must have been a meteor--a suggestion that the witnessed could not agree with.

Magor's report concludes with the rest area operator saying that despite his lack of interest in flaying saucers, "there definitely was something strange happening out there over the cemetery that night."

On the night of July 21, 1977, three members of the Bradford, Pennsylvania, police department were treated to the sight of two luminous objects flying low across the city sky toward Oak Hill Cemetery. That very same evening, a triangular UFO sporting white and red lights was seen over Limestone, N.Y. Adding to the baffling phenomena was the problem of "unidentified radio signals", mostly in a language similar to Spanish, pouring in over area air waves, disrupting police-band communications. While local experts dismissed the radio "skips", as they were known, no official explanation was ever put forth for the anomalous radio activity.

Even rock and roll musicians have experiences to share: Rob Zombie recalled having had a UFO sighting in 1973 while attending a third grade Halloween party. The future rock celebrity was leaving the event when he saw a UFO hovering over the cemetery adjacent to his grade school. "That was pretty freaky," he admitted to journalist Gerri Miller.

Alien Grave Robbers?

A UFO was inadvertently "caught in the act" of showing its interest for human burials on April 28, 1976, when Angel González photographed funeral services being held for Rev. Antonio Roque of the Barrio Navarro Baptist Church in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. At no point were the photographer nor those attending the service ever aware of the unidentified flying object: the dark, oval-shaped object appeared when the color film was developed. Gonzalez's snapshot shows the object suspended at a certain distance over the crowd. The photo appeared in the May 20th edition of the Caguas La Semana newspaper and went on to become one of the memorable images of Puerto Rico's mid-70s UFO wave.

On the other side of the Caribbean, residents of the Las Margaritas and Santa Rosa developments in the city of Jalapa allegedly witnessed a collision between two UFOs in mid-flight, directly above the Bosques del Recuerdo cemetery in the early hours of October 27, 1995. Both objects had been flying at high speeds and low above the ground.

It was approximately 4:00 a.m. when the dispatcher of the Canal 35 Hermandad taxi company, Ms. P.Ch.C, reported from her vantage point at the summit of Lomas Margaritas that a huge light which had been flying over the area had subdivided itself into three smaller lights, two of which had collided in mid-air. This report prompted a large number of cab drivers to rush to the scene of the events. Mrs. Y.F.G., a resident of the aforementioned development, stated that similar events had occurred days earlier and that she herself had seen the objects disappearing in the vicinity of Cofre de Perote, a nearby mountain.

Dr. Rafael A. Lara of the Mexican research organization CEFP, a resident of the state of Veracruz, managed to interview the witnesses for his Terra Incognita journal. Ms. P.Ch.C. added that after the objects disappeared, three women were seen in the middle of the cemetery, although the cab drivers who reported to the scene could not find anyone.

Contradictions did not wait long to emerge, as the selfsame Ms. P.Ch.C declared that what she had seen had not necessarily been "alien spaceships" and that an overeager radio journalist, Antonio Trujillo, had reported the "alien spaceships" over Bosques del Recuerdo Cemetery. The media frenzy led to the young woman being beseiged at her workplace by reporters interested in learing "if she had undergone any emotional or physical trauma as a result of witnessing the UFOs."

Mexico was not alone on the list: UFOs also staged appearances at cemeteries in Brazil during the April 1996 flap that caused excitement all over the South American giant's northeastern region. On April 5, 1996, a woman named María José and her son were driving along the road linking the cities of Joao Pessoa and Natal in the state of Paraiba when they became aware of a UFO hovering in the vicinity of a local cemetery. The unknown object sped directly toward them, passsing over the car's roof at low altitude. Mrs. José was so unnerved by the experience that she was hospitalized in the city of Campinha Grande.

Even more compelling is the case involving a direct link to one of South American ufology's strangest cases: the 1949 death of Joao Prestes due to an alleged "UFO bolt" which roasted him to death. Researcher Pablo Villarubia managed to find fresh leads and witnesses to this case in recent years, delving into the mispercepetions between what was reported and what actually happened. One of the most interesting side stories involved the unfortunate Joao's brother Emiliano, who had seen "two fireballs rising and striking each other" and repeating the same action in the vicinty of the Aracariguama cemetery a year after his brother's death. Emiliano Prestes was reportedly encircled by the fireballs and could feel the intense heat arising from the unknown objects. He dropped to his knees in fervent prayer until the lights departed, perhaps sparing him a fate similar to his brothers. According to Hermes da Fonseca, whom Villarubia interviewed, the fireballs remained active to the present: In 1995, Giomar Gouveia, a champion jockey and owner of some stables at Ibaté, saw a light hovering over his animals, giving off orange beams of light.
Aracariguama Cemetery had its own eerie stories to tell. Nelson Oliveira, the local gravedigger, informed the UFO researcher that around 1989, he had seen something strange in the cemetery: an unsusual circular flying object which resembled "an upside-down hat" made of aluminum. The object hovered for a while before heading in the direction of the city of Sao Paulo.

An unusual case involving the presence of UFOs in cemeteries occurred in the town of Gerena in the province of Sevile (Spain)and prompted an investigation by Joaquín Mateos Nogales, a respected local researcher.

Gerena is located some 14 miles northwest of Seville, and its cemetery lies outside the city limits, past the last few dwellings in town. These homes have a perfect view of the graveyard and its towering cypress trees.

On October 23, 1977, Ms. Ana Rumín and Mr. Manuel Fernández were walking along one of the town’s streets back to their respective homes on what was a cloudless night studded with stars. At a given moment, the time being eight o’clock in the evening, Ms. Rumín drew her companion’s attention to an unusal situation: an uncanny glow was emerging from the cemetery, which was clearly visible from where they stood. Mr. Fernández assured her that the glow was most likely “a cloud illuminated by the town’s streetlights”. This seemed like a reasonable explanation and they continued to amble down the street.

As they walked, they began to realize that the “cloud” over the cemetery had a reddish hue, and cast its light on the tall cypress trees and the mausoleums. It was a sizeable cloud, suspended in complete silence over the area. Realizing that something out of the ordinary was taking place, both went over to another neighbor – Mr. Ruperto Muñoz – with the purpose of taking a better look at the phenomenon from his rooftop. The Muñoz house was situated in such a way that he enjoyed a privileged view of the cemetery.

The homeowner and his wife joined the first two witnesses on the rooftop to look at the reddish cloud, but by this point, the red cloud had vanished, and the four onlookers were able to see a small red object (later described as “ciruclar”) heading off into the distance, changing colors from red to green and blinking intermittently.

“We must stress the fact,” states the researcher’s report, “that the area in question offers a wealth of unidentified flying object reports, which we have attested through many years of on-site research.”

The Real Tomb Raiders

Compelling evidence for UFO interest in the discarded mortal coils of human beings comes from West Virginia journalist Bob Teets, who mentioned the following cases in his book West Virginia UFOs (1994).

Elk Garden, a community of 300 souls in Mineral County, has attracted the disturbing attention of unidentfied objects since at least the early 1960's, when local residents began to see them in the vicinity of Nethken Hill, whose cemetery contains a number of the small town's most prominient citizens as well as a Methodist church. The Kalbaugh family, living on a farm located a small distance away from the cemetery, claims having seen "lights" throughout the late 1960's and early 70's, and being clearly aware that they were neither airplanes nor helicopters. Eyewitnesses are in agrement that that the lights were invariably white in color and accompanied by a high-pitched sound.

But the most memorable and eerie of the apparitions over Nethken Hill would occur on October 8, 1967, when Reverent Harley DeLeurere and two male members of his congregation, intrigued by the stories of sightings, went up to a promontory from where they could have a panoramic view of Nethken Hill and its cemetery. Their skywatch was rewarded later that evening when one of them saw an object described as "a big turtle with lights on it" appear over the hill and move deliberately toward the church.

The witnesses were stunned by what happened next: the turtle-shaped luminous object descended to approximately six feet off the ground as it shone its lights towward the graveyeard. One of the men (identified by author Teets only as "Leonard Jr."), recalls that the object's lights projected into a day-old grave at the cemetery. Rev. DeLeurere allegedly mentioned that it would be a good idea to exhume the body in the new grave to check for signs of disturbance. "It seems like every time there was a new grave, within the next couple of nights, people would see lights up there."

Seeing the events through the prism of early 90's abduction research, the author suggests the interesting possibility that the UFOs were engaged in the business of retrieving alien implants from the bodies interred on Nethken Hill.

Scientific Curiosity or Unhealthy Interest?

Why are UFOs (whatever their origin) interested in our final resting places? What could they stand to gain from such pursuits? Trying ascribe reason to an utterly unreasonable phenomenon leads us to consider that "alien scientists" can glean important biological information from the deceased, or as suggested in the West Virginia scenario, we are witnessing a cleanup operation aimed at removing implants left in the bodies of long-time abductees.

There is still a less wholesome possibility to consider, and it is as mind-bending as it is sordid: could UFOs be piloted by "recycled" humans? If it is true that the technology of any advanced alien civilization would be indistinguishable from magic, as Arthur C. Clarke noted in Report on Planet Three and Other Speculations, a spacefaring civilization might choose to leave the dangers of space travel to beings created specifically for the purpose, rather than jeopardizing its own citizens.

In November 1974, Luis and Maribel R., a married couple from the city of Huesca, Spain, stopped their car on a deserted highway in the middle of the night to hold a strange conversation with a conversation with a pointy-faced, all-too-human ufonaut, who asked them a surprising question: would they be so kind as to lend him a monkey wrench? A semi-spherical UFO with alternating red, yellow and white lights hovered in the background, and the car's driver wondered what good would a wrench do aboard such a vehicle. The ufonaut introduced himself as having been the former "Dr. Flor, from Barcelona."

Perhaps even more alarming is a case investigated by Spanish researcher Manuel Carballal: according to the testimony of a number of witnesses, a young man who identified himself as Frederick Valentich, the Australian pilot who disappeared mysteriously in 1978, was alive and well in 1990 at Plaza del Charco, a seaport square on island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Displaying an Australian passport to prove his claim, Valentich told those with whom he spoke on several occasions that he now belonged to a group of humans who had been "recruited" by extraterrestrials. It is also worth noting that the supposed Valentich showed no signs of aging, and resembled the photos circulated around the time of his disappearance.

Another case involving a possible "recycled" human occured in the Dominican Republic on September 22, 1973, as insurance salesman Virgilio Gómez drove to a business appointment. Heading toward his destination, he became aware of someone waving him down. As he slowed down, Gómez became aware that the person was clad in a green uniform and that there were two others standing a few dozen feet away. The insurance salesman could not have been prepared for what happened next: the man in the green uniformed told him that his name was Freddy Miller, a man who had "supposedly" drowned thirteen years earlier with other people in a boating accident, but that he had in fact been rescued by a modern device, "a module known to people as a UFO".

Suspecting that someone was playing a prank on him, Gómez asked the stranger which planet he came from. He was stunned when the man soberly answered that he thought he came from Venus, and that he had been rescued "on account of his knowledge of radio technology," adding that there had been no room for the other hapless boaters and that they would not have survived the "adaptation process."

Gómez remarked that "Freddy Miller" had a disgusting grayish-yellow skin tone that he found repulsive, spoke in a thick, deliberate voice and was virtually hairless. The entity's body was covered by a form-fitting green coverall without zippers or pockets. A large wristwatch "similar to the ones worn by scuba divers" adorned the wrist of its left hand.

The insurance agent was shown a half-concealed vehicle in the woods by the roadside -- a fact that caused him to realize that the situation was no joke. The oval-shaped craft had a chromelike sheen to it and largely resembled "an American football" (unlike the traditional soccer ball used throughout Latin America) and was windowless, betraying no external seams or rivets.

Did "recycled" humans resembling burn victims make an appearance in a 1967 UFO case in Western Pennsylvania? In a case researched by the defunct Pittsburgh UFO Research Institute, a man known only as "Mr. Rible" took his daughter to an airstrip near Butler, PA to possibly catch a glimpse of the strange nocturnal phenomena which had plagued the vicinity for some time. Father and daughter soon found themselves staring at the evolutions of two luminous objects which suddenly headed straight for their Volkswagen, yet rather than crashing into the hapless car, the lights morphed into a half-circle of five humanoid figures "dressed in sloppy green-gray trousers" with their heads covered by flat-topped caps. The exposed skin of their arms and faces was coarse and gave the appearance of being severly burned. After Mr. Rible coaxed his rear-engined car into starting, he found it necessary to drive around the semicircle of unpleasant figures.

Could the Men-in-Black who played such a prominent role in the early days of the UFO phenomenon correspond to this category of unliving beings, for want of a better term? Descriptions of these entities in their ill-fitting clothes, superannuated vehicles and odd physical characteristics have filled the casebooks of researchers in North America, South America and Europe.

A compelling example can be found in John Keel's The Mothman Prophecies (Signet, 1975) as the author turns his attention from the goings-on in West Virginia to the no less strange occurences
on Long Island, N.Y.'s Mount Misery. In the late spring of 1967, a young contactee began to have repeated encounters with a personage she at first took to be the local librarian, clad in old-fashioned, 1940's -style clothing (the author notes that this was before any "retro" styles were in fashion). A series of subsequent encounters occured in which the strange personage--always wearing the same garb--tried to address the contactee. "There was something wrong about her movements. It was as if...she were dead."

Much has been made of the Men-in-Black's choice of clothing: white shirts, black ties and black suits. Perhaps these intriguing characters have been reanimated from the grave still clad in their burial clothes? A ludicrous proposition, but the MIB who caused a coin to vanish before the startled eyes of Maine physician Herbert Hopkins in 1976 was described as wearing heavy white makeup and lipstick. An effort to hide the disfigurations of a cadaver? The intervening twenty-odd years have not shed any further light on this case.

(An earlier version of this article appeared in 2001 in FATE Magazine and was cited by Preston Dennett in the MUFON Proceedings for 2002)

Friday, June 08, 2012

Spain: The Cañada de los Garabatos CE-2 (1982)

Spain: A Landing at Cañada de los Garabatos (1982)A Report by Joaquin Mateos and Manuel Filpo

Technical Information

Geographic Location: Property of the “La Alegria” farm at the gorge known as “Los Garabatos” within the municipal confines of Sanlucar La Mayor, Province of Seville (Spain). The landing site is practically at the center of the triangle formed by Aznalcollar, Gerena and Olivares. This is an area in which multiple sightings have occurred over the last 15 years.

Time and Date: 30 January 1982 at 21:00 hours (Saturday)

Sighting Information: It was seen at a distance of 300 meters. It was on land or close to it, in a horizontal position. The observation lasted five minutes.

Information on the Surroundings: The terrain is nearly flat. A few meters away there is a relatively small reservoir used by the Aznalcollar Mine. There are some scattered cortijos (farmhouses) in the area. The remains of an ancient aqueduct used by the Romans to bring water to Italica are nearby.

Physical Characteristics of the Sighting: The object was cigar-shaped and the witness defines it as a fluorescent tube measuring some 30 meters long. The object was fully illuminated by an intense white light and surrounded by a haze of a similar color. The entire location was so thoroughly illuminated by it that the slightest details were clearly visible: plants, shrubs and stones. It produced no sounds or smells. No traces were left behind. After the sighting was over, as the witnesses returned to their homes, they noticed that their television sets suffered transient problems, with a great black dot appearing in the middle of the screen. No animal anomalies have been ascertained in the neighboring farmhouses.

Weather Conditions: Completely clear

Witnesses: Don Manuel Morato, married, around 30 years old, native of Cabezas de San Juan (Sevilla), and a tractor operator at the farmhouse. The overseer also saw the object as it flew over both of them.

Description of the Events: Mr. Morato was carrying out agricultural duties on his tractor and the vehicle became stuck as a result of recent rains. He abandoned the tractor and returned to the farmhouse on foot to ask for help. He and the overseer decide to go find another tractor to pull it out. No sooner do they step out, they see a light that draws their attention. They wait for it to fly past and remark that it’s longer than an airplane, aside from being fully illuminated like a fluorescent tube. Its velocity was slow. They witnessed its trajectory until it vanished behind some hills. They then continued toward the stuck tractor and extricate it, each man riding a separate tractor. While the overseer goes ahead, the main witness decides to take a look at the hills and ascertains, to his astonishment, that the object is on the ground or close to it, surrounded by the mysterious haze that enveloped it as it went past. The main witness observed the phenomenon for five minutes before deciding to advise his companion, in order that he may also see it. They go back but there is nothing to he seen. Perhaps it turned itself off – remarks the tractor operator – but both men decide to return to the farmhouse. Subsequently, interruptions occur on both men’s TV sets.

Remarks: Yet another sighting occurs in this “hot spot”. We must also note that the witnesses are serious people, not big talkers, pleasant and educated. There are no reasons that we could see as justifying a falsehood. Both men are confused, stunned.

The area has, in theory, attractive features for hypothetical extraterrestrial visitors: mines, archaeological ruins, a variety of crops...and even a distinguished researcher such as Don Manuel Osuna. The possible hypothesis of the “magnet” effect exerted by researchers of the phenomenon should not be dismissed. It may someday be confirmed, as Don Ignacio Darnaude has suggested.

The possible relationship between sightings and the presence of eucalyptus trees should is also worthy of further study, as these have seldom been absent from areas where such incidents have occurred. Our colleagues Hermida and Valls are working on a report on the subject.

The interference caused to the TV sets is also very interesting, as it is unique. A black dot that takes up nearly the entire TV screen can only be produced by a serious breakdown. It is true that after some research, we were able to ascertain that classic interference took place that night. It can be supposed that the object remained in the area for some time, confirming the tractor’s suspicions about how the object “turned itself off”.

The uncertain nature of the white light is also confirmed. We often hear descriptions such as “it was like nothing we’d ever seen” or “it lit the entire area like daylight but without blinding us.”

When we tried to survey the area in detail, we could see that it had been plowed over, thus making it impossible to find possible landing marks or ground traces.

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Brazil: The Man Who Woke Up on a Rock – A Thousand Feet in the Air

Brazil: The Man Who Woke Up on a Rock – A Thousand Feet in the Air

Source: Gazeta Newspaper
Date: 8 November 2008

[Our friend and colleague Paulo R. Poian has called our attention to this bit of undeniable high-strangeness from 2008 in Brazil’s Espiritu Santo province. No UFOs were present. Could a hapless stoneworker been teleported to a rocky summit by those reckless entities we know as the djinn? Perhaps we’ll never know – SC]

The protagonist of this story was rescued by firefighters. No UFOs were reported in the region and the episode was described as a “strange form of somnambulism”.

The event took place in the Brazilian state of Espiritu Santo: “A mystery is perplexing the residents of Bananalzinho in the municipality of Rio Bananal. Odair José Berti, 35, a stonecutter, does not know how he wound up on top of a rock some 980 feet in the air – remaining on this precarious perch for some 17 hours. He was rescued by firefighters during a hazardous operation that took 12 hours and ended early yesterday morning. Even experienced firefighters like sergeants José Ailton and Caldeira could not find a logical explanation for the bizarre episode.

According to the rescuers, reaching the top of the rock poses considerable difficulty, even using proper gear. It would be virtually impossible for local residents to make a successful ascent without the proper mountaineering equipment.

“Only God knows how he got there,” remarked Claudecir Berti, the stonecutter’s nephew. Odair himself was terrified by the situation. He lives in the town of Colatina and had decided to take a walk over to his brother’s house in Bananalzinho, where he arrived late on Wednesday.

“I was very tired,” he told his relatives, and fell asleep early.

Upon awakening the next day – according to his story – he was greatly shocked to find himself on top of a rocky summit. In desperation, he started to scream, waving his shirt, until a local resident took notice. When he was rescued, the stonecutter was found wearing shorts, a shirt and carpet slippers, and didn’t have a scratch on his body, as the rescuers would testify. He was in weakened condition, however, due to thirst and hunger. Mr. Berti was treated at the local hospital and released.

The rescue mission involved a team of four firefighters, who were driven to the site at around 1:40 in the afternoon. Upon realizing the seriousness of the situation, they took a helicopter belonging to the state government. However, the flying vehicle was not rated for nocturnal operations, so the rescuers decided to attempt a climb using rappelling techniques. Aided by local residents, they took over an hour to reach the best-suited area for an ascent.

The operation lasted about an hour. During the descent, two firefighters became lost and only managed to find their way out with the help of some locals. During the climb, Sgt. Jose Ailton experienced several foot injuries.

The stonecutter’s relatives insist that the does not suffer from mental problems. Odair is separated from his wife and lives with his mother.

About Me

The Institute of Hispanic Ufology was established in October of 1998 with the appearance of the first issue of Inexplicata. The organization currently has representatives and contributing editors in over a dozen Spanish-speaking countries. Director: Scott Corrales.